The Chinese government has called on India and Pakistan to exercise restraint in the ongoing fallout over a recent terrorist attack in Kashmir, after India launched airstrikes on Pakistani territory.

“India and Pakistan are both important countries in South Asia. Sound relations and cooperation serve the interest of both countries for peace and stability in South Asia,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a briefing in Beijing Tuesday.

“We hope the two countries can keep restraint and do more to improve bilateral relations,” he added.

The latest call for calm comes after the Indian Air Force reportedly sent 12 Mirage 2000 multi-role fighter jets to bomb sites purported to belong to the Jaish-e-Mohammed separatist group. The group claimed responsibility for the February 14 suicide bomb attack which killed 40 members of India’s Central Reserve Police Force.

It is by far the most severe escalation between the rival nations since the attack, following measures including the diversion of rivers and calls for economic ‘isolation’ of Pakistan by India.